Powerful Emotions
by Pessimistic Romanticist
Summary: set after episode "missing", will contain spoilers , Kensi deals with Dom's missing status and finds comfort in the one person who truly understands her, from her head ,to her heart, as she experiences powerful emotions. Nate/Kensi pairing.
1. Prologue

**A/n:**_ So my newest writing obsession is ncis specifically ncis: LA. I don't think im quite ready to write ncis fiction because I never like to write in a category where I haven't seen all existing episodes in the series so until i do, I will not venture in that category. I have however watched ncis LA since its pilot/crossover on the original and I love the Nate/kensi paring also known as NaKed,and I was very disappointed at the lack of ff on this site for the pairing , yes there are a couple of stories, but mostly one-shots, and a whole lotta kensi/callen, boo. so the plot bunnies were running around in my head after the newest ep and this is the result, this is my first NCIS story of any kind,but I hope it is to your liking,enjoy.  
_

**Summary :**_set after episode "missing", will contain spoilers , Kensi deals with Dom's missing status and finds comfort in the one person who truly understands her, from her head ,to her heart, as she experiences powerful emotions. Nate/Kensi pairing.  
_

**_Powerful Emotions_**

_Prologue_

Kensi placed the last of Dom's dishes on the counter. She sighed and ran her hand through her hair. Thinking back to her conversation with Hetty, waves of guilt filled her mind, for not getting to know the young agent as well as she could hav_e._

She knew she shouldn't be feeling guilty, they'd worked so hard to find him, but it just wasn't enough,they'd been too late. Whoever was after him, or NCIS, , had gotten Dom and there was nothing they could do to help him now.

She put the cleaned and dry dishes into his cabinets,absentmindedly wiped the counters dry, then turned off all the lights before locking the door behind her as she left. As she made her way down the walkway her cell began to ring, she looked on the screen and saw _Nate_. She expected that he would call, she'd written her report then left without saying a word to anyone. She wasn't in the mood for any psychobabble. She just wanted to go home, sit down with a beer and pretend to give a damn about whatever was on the TV.

So she sent the call to voice mail , then immediately felt bad about doing that. She knew Nate meant well, and he had to have noticed the myriad of emotion she wore on her face, that they all had on their faces, even Callen, all day, since they found Dom's, abandoned ,bloody and shot up, car. She thought about calling him back,but decided against it, instead she got into her car and drove home.

* * *

She unlocked the door to her apartment, walked inside and kicked off her shoes, before heading over to the fridge. She flashed back to the image of Dom's fridge, covered in pictures and drawings from his nieces and nephews.

She opened the fridge and grabbed a beer, turned to walk away, stopped and a grabbed a second bottle and a carton of leftover food from the other night, before closing the fridge door. She emptied the contents of the takeaway box onto a plate, then placed it into the microwave. It wasn't that she was hungry, in fact she was in no mood to eat, but Kensi and beer on an empty stomach did not end very well. She wanted to get drunk, not drunk _and_ sick.

The convention oven dinged signaling her food was ready. She removed the plate, grabbed a fork from her cutlery drawer, and the two bottles of beer,before heading over to her couch . She turned on the tv and started to eat her food , and take sips from the first beer, then started on the second . The tv was on a local channel which was giving a rerun of some random sitcom.

Suddenly there was a knock on the door. She glanced at the clock and saw that it was almost one am, who could possible be at her door this time of night . She grabbed her gun and walked over to the door, she peeked through the peephole then opened the door.

"What are you doing here?" Kensi said to the person on the other side of the door, it was Nate standing there with that observant look on his face,she could tell wheels were turning in his head.

"I...I came to see if you were ok." Nate said.

"I...I'm fine." Kensi said a bit of defensiveness in her voice. She placed her gun on the lamp table by the door then turned to face Nate,a move that didn't go unnoticed by the ever observant operational psychologist.

"Are you sure?" Nate said in his, _I can see right through your mask_, tone.

"Yes...I don't need to get my head shrunk. Why aren't you checking up on Callen, Sam, or Eric, is it because I'm a girl and I'm expected to be emotional! Kensi said in her pissed off voice.

"No...I offered to talk to them too,they found ways to deal...you disappeared and didn't answer when I called..." Nate started to explain, but Kensi cut him off.

"So you figured you'd come here and what? Make sure I hadn't done anything stupid or crazy!" Kensi said the beer starting to take affect as her anger and frustration made her lash out.

"Yes...I mean No." Nate said nervously, her accusatory anger had caught him a bit off guard.

"Which is it Nate?" Kensi said clearly irritated.

"What I meant to say was that, I was worried about you...that's why I came, not as a psychologist,but as a friend, _your_ friend." Nate said regaining his composure.

Kensi then burst into tears, it was all too much,she'd been trying all day to keep up her strength to not let her emotions show, and at that moment, realizing that she'd lashed out at someone, who's only fault was that he was concerned about her , she couldn't keep it all in anymore.

"Kensi, it's ok." Nate said moving closer to her.

"They took Dom, he was just a kid, he wasn't experienced like the rest of us." Kensi said.

"Don't say, _was_, they took him for a reason...chances are he's still alive, wherever he is, he's stronger than everyone gave him credit for , that will make up for his lack of experience." Nate said, trying to make her, and perhaps himself too, feel better.

Despite Nate's words tears continued to fall down her face. Nate didn't know what to do, he'd never seen Kensi cry openly like that. So without really thinking he gently put his arms around her. When he realized what he'd done,he expected Kensi to react angrily,but before he could remove his arms,he felt hers on his back as she pulled in and held onto him as she cried.

He rubbed her back as she continued to cry, letting out all the stress and emotion of the day. A few minutes later , she released him from the hug , a nervous and embarrassed expression written all over her tear stained face.

"I ruined your shirt..." Kensi said looking at the big wet stain on his shirt,caused by her tears.

"It's ok." Nate said , not sure what to say next. Truth was he could care less about the state of his shirt, his mind was racing,he'd felt emotions of his own as he'd held her, and was now missing the physical contact.

"Um,do you want to come inside?" Kensi said realizing they'd been standing outside her door the whole time, her neighbors already thought she was weird , what would they think if they spotted her out in the hallway with some guy that late at night.

"Sure." Nate said walking in. He automatically recognized that she asked him in, because she subconsciously didn't want to be alone.

"Do you want something to drink, I've got beer... and more beer." Kensi said chuckling nervously.

"Sure..." Nate said. Kensi motioned for him to have a seat on the couch, while she fetched him a beer from the fridge.

" Here you go." Kensi said handing him the bottle.

"Thanks." Nate said,then took a sip.

"Hey, Nate..." Kensi suddenly said.

"Yeah, Kensi." Nate said turning to face her.

"Thanks...for letting me cry on your shoulder...,but if a word of this gets to Callen or Sam, I will kill you, got it!" Kensi said returning to her normal self.

"Yeah..got it." Nate said then took another swig of his beer, while pretending to pay attention to what was on the TV. While Kensi wore a smirk on her face.

* * *

**A/n: **_Thanks for reading I also have a couple of short fic ideas, probably two to three chapters in my head, if I receive interest on this, I will post those as well. I'm not sure If I will turn this into a multi-fic, I have the ideas in my head,so I might just leave it as a incomplete one-shot for now and continue it, when I've finished some of my other current WIP's, so please let me know what you think, again this is my first try at ncis fanfiction I hope I captured the characters, reviews/suggestions/construct criticism is greatly appreciated_

_**-Pessi . Rom**  
_


	2. Closet Romantic

**A/n:**_ So I have decided to continue this and actually I hadn't planned on posting a new chapter until I was finished with my WIP fringe fics, but the latest episode of NCIS:LA was just too good not to use some of the scenes in this story,especially what I think is an epic moment for Nate/Kensi , if you haven't seen the ep yet, this will contain spoilers for "the bank job", and you should definitely watch that ep,cause it was...wow. Anyway enough about me loving the ep, I hope you like this chapter,there will be much that happened in the ep, in this chapter,with a few additions and creative license on my part. Also in regards to this story, the events in the episode "LD50" have happened already,I just wont be mentioning it. I'm really close to finishing the WIP's I've been focusing on, which will free me up to work on this, if you go to my profile page I have a section that shows future fic, I have a NCIS:LA one shot listed, that I will be posting once its completely written, now on with the chapter, enjoy.__  
_

**_-Pessi . Rom_**

_**Thanks to:**_

**jenny-harkness -** _I know what you mean, I honestly never considered the kensi/G pairing , not romantically anyway, I see them more like bro and sis, there's more romantic chemistry between her and Nate, anywho thanks for the review glad you like the story, enjoy the __ first chapter__._

**dappleddakota-** _I know what you mean about Dom, the other characters were obviously affected by his disappearance,but Dom's character wasn't as developed as the others, but I think the character in itself had potential, thanks for the review,glad you liked the story, enjoy the__ first chapter_

**MyOwnWorstCritic-** _I'm glad you liked the story, I have to say, that you yourself are an amazing writer,yours were the first NaKed fic's I've read,I mostly read them on my phone,so I don't think I was able to review,but I wanted you to know I enjoyed them,thanks for the review,I hope you enjoy the first chapter.  
_

**Sami Marie- **_Thanks for the review, glad you like the pairing and my story, I hope you enjoy the __ first chapter__._

**JTF2- **_Glad you loved the prologue, thank you for the review, I hope you enjoy the __ first chapter_

**NcisLAgirl- **_I love Nate/Kensi too,which I'm sure is obvious hence my story lol, I'll probably post my other NCISLA stories in the next couple of weeks,thanks for the review, I hope you enjoy the first chapter._

**surferdude8225-**_ As you can see from this update, this story will indeed have more __chapters__, glad you like the pairing, its good to know I'm not the only Nate/Kensi shipper,thanks for the review, I hope you enjoy the first chapter._

**and also to anyone who didn't review,but added me or this story to an alert or favorite list, I appreciate that as well.**

**Chapter One:**_ Closet Romantic  
_

_8:00 AM_

Nate was awakened by a strong aroma. He opened his eyes,and didn't recognize where he was. Taking a closer look he remembered exactly where he was. He was at junior field agent, Kensi Blye's, apartment. His mind flashed back to the previous day's events,the search and failed mission to save Dom and later his visit to check on Kensi. He figured he must have dozed off on her couch after his second beer. He hadn't planned to stay as long as he did,but he could sense that Kensi needed the company. Suddenly Kensi appeared with two hot coffee mugs in hand, she smiled when she saw he was awake.

''I'm guessing you could use some of this,its Brazilian.'' Kensi says handing him one of the mugs.

''Thanks.'' Nate said taking the cup and taking a sip.

''You're welcome.'' Kensi said as she sipped from her own cup of coffee.

''Sorry about crashing on your couch, you should have woken me up.'' Nate said,then took another sip.

''I couldn't, you looked so cute and peaceful laying there, I didn't want to disturb you. Plus I couldn't send you home drunk at that hour.'' Kensi said ,tone going from playful to serious.

Nate recognized the underlying meaning in her words. After what happened to Dom,she didn't want to take the chance of losing another team member. The concerned gesture warmed Nate's heart, and made him smile.

''What? '' Kensi asked seeing the thoughtful expression on his face.

''You called me cute.'' Nate said choosing not to voice his other psychological observations.

''I did not.'' Kensi said scoffing.

Nate just gave her one of his 'don't try to deny it,you know that's a lie' ,look. They stared at each other neither showing signs of backing down, when suddenly Nate broke the tension by breaking their intense eye contact and nervously clearing his throat.

''I should probably go, Hetty will have a fit If I'm late...lots to do at work." Nate said standing up and handing her his finished coffee cup.

"Yeah, I should be getting ready too." Kensi said referring to her, sweatpants and tank top, pajama dressed state.

"Thanks,again for the coffee." Nate said.

"You're welcome. " Kensi said, Nate turned to leave,but Kensi called his name causing him to stop mid step.

"Nate..."

"Yeah, Kensi?" Nate said turning back around to face her.

"Thanks again ..for you know..checking up on me yesterday...I appreciate it." Kensi said struggling with the words. She wasn't very good at letting her guard down, but with Nate, things just came easier, she didn't know what it was about him.

"No,problem, see you at the office." Nate said then left,not noticing his wallet laying on the couch.

After Nate left her apartment, Kensi jumped into the shower. She got dressed,then grabbed a blueberry muffin from her fridge. She went over the couch, picking up the blanket she covered Nate with,the night before and noticed a black leather wallet. As she picked the wallet up, there was a knock at the door,she figured it was Nate realizing he'd left his wallet.

"Back for your wall..." Kensi began when she opened the door,but stopped when she realized it wasn't Nate at her door, but her landlord,Mr . Watson.

"Excuse me?" Her landlord said confused.

"Sorry, , I thought you were someone else." Kensi said to her landlord.

"Its ok...I just wanted to inform you that there's been a break in, in the building,keep an eye out for any suspicious people in the building and make sure you keep your windows and doors locked, when you leave the apartment and at night."Mr . Watson said.

"Thanks, for letting me know." Kensi said, and her landlord walked away to inform the other tenants on the floor.

Kensi closed the door and panic started to settle in as she thought about her treasured possessions. She thought this area was fairly safe and the building security wasn't bad either,or so she thought. She quickly gathered her childhood artifact and several other treasures, and placed them in a cardboard box before heading to work.

* * *

**NCIS , Office of Special Projects **_9:30 AM_

Kensi heard Callen and Sam going on in their usual banter way, as she got closer to them, she saw that what they were discussing was the contents of the box she'd packed up, after hearing about the break in,in her building.

"Mine,mine." Kensi said rushing over and grabbing the items from Sam and G's hands and placing them back into the box.

"We thought Hetty was having a garage sale." G said.

"What is all this stuff?" Sam asked.

"Just prized possessions,sacred belongings,heirlooms and memories. Irreplaceable items that cannot be easily priced." Kensi said , speaking very fast as she described just what the contents of the box were.

"This,is priceless." Sam said holding up, colorful linked rubber bracelets.

"Are you kidding? A full set of ultra jelly bracelets, from Tokyo." Kensi said shocked that they didn't know the worth.

"Wow..." G said, clearly feigning interest.

"G, has a thing for ultra jelly bracelets from Tokyo." Sam said somewhat mocking Kensi's excitement over the bracelets.

"Alright,look there was a break in, in my apartment building and... so I couldn't let the crooks take any of my stuff." Kensi explained.

"Yeah,what is the price on the black market these days for poppycock baby dolls?" G asked as he held Kensi's doll.

"It's not just any poppycock baby doll,this is..uh,Pete." Kensi said taking the doll back from Callen.

"I keep my mementos in a GSA class six fireproof safe, glued to the floor of my den, under false wooden panels." Sam said, which earned him strange looks from Kensi and Callen. He continued talking anyway despite the looks.

"Gotta be protective." Sam said as he played with Kensi's silver slinky.

"For, _Pete's_,sake." Callen said clearly mocking her attachment to the baby doll. Kensi dismissed Callen's comment and turned her attention to Sam's previous comment.

"GSA class six is military grade,what do you keep in there?" Kensi asked curious.

"That's classified." Sam said with a serious expression as he continued to play with the slinky.

"What about you?" Kensi said,this time dismissing Sam's comment and turning to face Callen.

"Where do I keep my stuff?" Callen asked clarifying the question.

"Yeah." Kensi said curious as to where Callen might keep his treasured possessions.

"Here." Callen said pointing to his head.

"No,no,no, I don't mean memories. I mean stuff ,like this." Kensi said referring to her box.

"G, doesn't have stuff." Sam said answering for him.

"I find pack rats and hoarders fascinating. Did you know they tend to be closet romantics." Nate said suddenly appearing.

"I'm sorry, did you just call me a hoarder!" Kensi said starting to get defensive.

"He said pack rat first." Sam pointed out,which earned him a slap on the hand from Kensi.

"Wow..." Nate said reaching into the box and pulling out Kensi's king cobra.

Suddenly Hetty appeared and started to regal about one of her most prized possessions,which from her description of what happened to it, made it clear that it was some kind of vehicle. Callen,Nate, Sam and Kensi looked awkwardly at each other as they always did, when Hetty would appear and not only be able to relate to whatever discussion was going on,but with interesting, not expected detailed stories.

After Hetty finished her story, a whistle was heard from the second floor and they all looked up to see Eric.

"New case on deck...dude is that a king cobra?" Eric said spotting the rolled up snake in Nate's hand.

They all proceeded to head upstairs,while Hetty went back to whatever she was doing when she'd walked over. Sam and Callen headed up first while Nate,then Kensi ,followed a few feet behind.

"Nate,hold up a minute..." Kensi said stopping him before he could ascend the steps.

"Before I forget...you left your wallet on my couch."Kensi said reaching into her pocket and handing him the black leather wallet.

"Thanks,been looking for that.'Nate said taking the wallet and sticking it into his pocket.

"Mr. Getz , Ms. Blye,shouldn't you be in the briefing." Hetty said appearing out of nowhere.

"On our way. " Kensi said,then she headed up the stairs,Nate right behind her.

* * *

**NCIS,** ** Office of Special Projects** 1:00 PM

Kensi was bagging up the money recovered at their dead suspects,apartment,when she heard a familiar harmonic tone. She stopped what she was doing and went in search of the instrumental sound. She ended up on the second floor,where she saw Nate playing a harmonica. She stalked over to him angrily.

"What is this?" Kensi said clearly upset.

"Oh...uh...the blues,yeah it may not look like it,but,yeah,I got soul." Nate said somewhat bragging as he nervously shifted the harmonica in his hand.

"Cool harmonica,huh." Nate said.

"_My_,harmonica." Kensi said almost looking like she was going to cry.

"Sorry...it was sitting on the table,thought it was Dom's." Nate said,his tone turning serious, as he handed her the harmonica.

" No,it was a gift from my Dad." Kensi said then silently looked down, absentmindedly playing with the harmonica.

Nate immediately realized why Kensi was upset, wheels seemed to turn in his head,before he voiced his thoughts.

"You don't talk about him much." Nate said. Kensi looked up at Nate,a sad expression on her face, Nate leaned up against the window beside him,Kensi joined him,the harmonica still in her hand. She sighed then began to speak.

"We were living in a base in the middle of nowhere,and one night,I wanted to go out with my friends to the movies. He said no,left me at home to go have a beer with some guys from his platoon. So I snuck out anyway...Titanic." Kensi said laughing to herself about that last comment.

"Titanic?" Nate asked confused.

"The movie,I loved it,still do,you can make fun of me all you want,I don't care." Kensi said,and Nate laughed.

"Anyway,after that, I came home,he didn't. MP's found his body ,on the side of the highway, the next day. Coroner needed dental records to identify him." Kensi said,then looked down becoming preoccupied with her hands.

"What about his drinking buddies?" Nate asked.

"Questioned,cleared,shipped out. Case was never solved, I was fifteen,so I never got to speak to them." Kensi said,then sighed.

"Well...he would have been proud of you." Nate said,which made Kensi smile and lightly laugh.

"You play this better than I do." Kensi said referring to the harmonica.

"Well...you should see me play my banjo." Nate said, a hint of flirting in his tone.

This too earned a smile from Kensi. They both looked at each other and smiled before looking away. Kensi then walked away,thinking about how funny it was that again, it had been so easy to talk and open up to Nate. While Nate watched as she walked away, happy that she'd opened up,instead of pushing him away. It was a significant step for Kensi, and by telling him about her dad, it showed that she trusted him.

* * *

**LA Hospital 3:00 PM **

''What's the prognosis Doc?'' Kensi asked, walking over to the information desk, where Nate is sitting dressed as a hospital doctor,with headphones on, he takes them off,leaving them hanging around his neck,then addresses Kensi.

'' Well, his entire value system is based on use of violence. The threat of Salerno finding him will be too much to bare,he's going to run back to his boss, and beg for his life.''Nate said voicing his psychological observations of their suspect.

'' Good thing I tagged him before he woke up from surgery'' Kensi said taking out her cell.

'' GPS and audio, under the...uh,shoulder bandage,that was smooth.'' Nate said complimenting her,but it came out slightly awkward.

'' Mhmm.. '' Kensi said as she scrolled through her phone .

''Up top.'' Nate said motioning for her to high five him.

''I need to get this tail started...and you need to get out of the office more.'' Kensi said looking at him strangely, Nate quickly lowered his hand,slightly embarrassed.

* * *

**NCIS **** Office of Special Projects**** 7:00 PM**

Kensi was finishing up the paperwork, for the bank case,when she heard footsteps approach her desk,she looked up to see Nate.

"Hey..." Nate said walking over.

"Hey..." Kensi said,writing the last sentence of her report before slipping it into a folder.

"Where's your box?" Nate asked seeing that Kensi's cardboard box filled with her 'stuff', was no longer sitting on the desk.

"Thanks to Hetty,I found a safe place to store it." Kensi said thinking back to her conversation with Hetty.

"Good." Nate said not sure what else to say.

"You done for the day?" Kensi asked.

"Yep,just about to head out." Nate said shuffling his feet.

"Did you want to talk to me about something?" Kensi asked curious as to why he seemed so nervous.

"Well, earlier you said I should get out of the office more... I was wondering,since you sort of treated me to a drink,if you wanted to join me for one now, my treat." Nate said pushing his nerves down.

"Yeah,sure, let me just drop these off on Hetty's desk." Kensi said grabbing the file and heading over to Hetty's office.

"Ready to go?" Kensi said reappearing and putting on her coat.

"Yep." Nate said, and they walked out of the building together.

"Where do you wanna go?" Kensi asked, as they stood by their respective cars.

"Well, I've got beer back at my place, we could watch Titanic." Nate said jokingly,which earned him a punch to the shoulder from Kensi.

"Ow,why'd you do that for, I was only joking, and you said, I could make fun of you." Nate said rubbing his arm.

"Because it was fun." Kensi said smiling coyly at him.

"So,was that a no, to the movie." Nate said, then winced when he saw her glare,thinking she was gonna hit him again.

"Yeah,but a yes to the beer at your place, I'll race you there." Kensi said giving him a flirty look, then hopping into her car and speeding away.

Nate watched her drive off, noting how she was becoming more and more intriguing to him, she was definitely a closet romantic. He then got into his own car, and headed to his apartment, where he knew Kensi would already be waiting, once he arrived.

* * *

A**/n: **I'm not so sure about the ending, I don't know if they were really in character, I dunno, I guess I tend to be overcritical of myself especially since I pride my self on being able to write the characters with as little OOC moments as possible_,anywho let me know what you think reviews/suggestions/construct criticism are greatly appreciated. with no new eps till march,boo,I don't know when I'll update again, I have a possible idea for the next chapter, but I've got a couple busy days ahead of me so even then I probably wont be able to update for another week and a half,thanks again for reading, I appreciate it and hope you enjoyed this.  
_

_**-Pessi . Rom**_


	3. Spontaneity

**A/n:**_ Here is the next chapter ,enjoy.__  
_

**_-Pessi . Rom_**

_**Thanks to:**_ MyOwnWorstCritic, JTF2,NcisLAgirl,Prowler Kid, Sami Marie and Maira der Panda, for reviewing I appreciate it** and also to anyone who didn't review,but added me or this story to an alert or favorite list, I appreciate that as well.**

**Chapter Two :**_ Spontaneity  
_

Nate arrived at his apartment building, he immediately spotted Kensi's black sports car and smiled. He walked up the stairs and there she was leaning up against his doorway frame with her arms crossed.

"Took ya long enough." Kensi said with a smirk.

"Because, _I_, didn't speed." Nate said wearing a smirk of his own.

"it's a wonder, _you_, get into work on time with how slow you drive." Kensi said continuing to tease him, as he turned the key in the lock to open the door to his apartment.

Nate just rolled his eyes and opened the door , he held the door open for her to walk in, then followed her into the apartment. After closing the door, Nate motioned for her to have a seat in his living room area,while he headed to the kitchen to grab some drinks.

Kensi however,never able to quite stay still ,just roamed around his living room,taking in the decor of the room . She'd been to Nate's place a couple of times before,but she was usually picking him up, or dropping him off,when the team went out to eat or for drinks. So this was the first time she had a chance to really take a look at the psychologist's apartment.

Nate came back into the room and handed her a beer. He noticed the curious look on her face as she observed her surroundings, a look not unlike the one he wore when he was psychoanalyzing something someone did or said.

"What?" Nate asked curious as to what she was thinking.

"I was just thinking...everyone talked about their 'stuff' today,or lack of stuff in Callen's case, but you." Kensi said.

"Is that why you're trying to x-ray my living room?" Nate asked jokingly.

"Yeah." Kensi said. She doubted Nate had hidden panels in his floor, and just like her place ,his didn't come with a dishwasher. So she was curious as to where the psychologist kept his prized possessions.

"Try the bookshelf, second shelf, third book to the left." Nate said, answering her question, and pointing to a medium sized bookshelf against one of his walls.

"The bookshelf?" Kensi asked, giving him a confused look.

"Just try the book." Nate said chuckling at her stubbornness.

"OK..." Kensi said walking over to the grabbed the book, that Nate had pointed out, and immediately noted its lightness, despite it physically being a large, presumably heavy,book.

"It's hollow." Kensi said, after knocking on it.

"Yep..open it." Nate said.

Kensi opened the book and found its insides resembled that of a keepsake box of some sort. Inside lay a watch, a pair of silver cuff links, a diamond ring and a couple of,what she assumed were,old family photographs.

"What is this stuff?" Kensi asked curious.

"The book and the contents used to belong to my grandfather, Cyrus Getz, he left them to me when he died." Nate explained.

"Is this you?" Kensi asked, taking out one of the photographs. It was of an old man, from the looks of it around sixty-five, and a toddler, who looked very much like a younger version of Nate, sitting on his knee.

"Yeah, that's me and Grandpa Cyrus. At the time I was his only grandchild,but he still called me his favorite grandchild." Nate said getting a reminiscent look in his eye.

"You miss him." Kensi said seeing the familiar look of longing on Nate's face,one she saw on her own face, when she thought about her deceased father.

"Yea...he was always there for me.." Nate said a hint of sadness in his voice.

"I know the feeling..." Kensi said thinking about her dad. Even though it was just the two of them, after her mother died,her father always worked to make the best for her.

"Are you hungry...I could order pizza, or Chinese?" Nate said breaking the thoughtful silence.

"Yeah,pizza would be nice." Kensi said slightly smiling.

Nate walked over and grabbed the cordless phone in the kitchen, he called pizza hut, while Kensi put the book back on the shelf and turned her attention to Nate's CD collection. Her smile grew when she spotted a particular album,at the same time Nate walked back into the room.

"Is that Abba?" Kensi said reaching for the album.

"No!" Nate said grabbing the CD before Kensi could.

"Liar." Kensi said trying to grab the CD from Nate, but since he was much taller than her he held it above her head.

"Hey no fair." Kensi said, while slightly pouting.

"Are you done looking through my stuff?" Nate asked with a smirk.

"Yes..." Kensi said, then pretended to walk away, and when she saw Nate lower his hand, out of the corner of her eye, she turned back around to grab the CD and run with it, but didn't count on Nate's grip. She ended up falling back against him and knocking them both of balance and to the ground,with Kensi practically straddling Nate.

Both lay frozen, and in shock, over their current physical position. Suddenly they both started laughing nervously, as they looked at each other. Nate looked up and saw that a few pieces of Kensi's hair had slipped out of her ponytail and were hanging over her left eye. Without thinking, he reached up with his hand, and brushed aside the strands away from her eye. Kensi could feel her face warm at his tender touch,especially since his hand still lay on her face even after he moved her hair.

Nate began to feel as he had when he'd wrapped his arms around her,when she was crying, the night before . Kensi started to feel her whole body flush with warmth, and found herself leaning closer to Nate as he too moved his head closer to hers, while his hand still rested against her soft skin. When their lips were mere inches apart, sudden ringing of Nate's doorbell caused them to quickly move apart.

"That's probably the pizza." Kensi said avoiding direct eye contact with Nate. And even though the moment had been disrupted,by the doorbell, she still felt a bit flushed.

Kensi climbed off of Nate, then helped him up off the floor, all the while still avoiding looking him in the eye. Nate mumbled a thanks,also avoiding direct eye contact, then headed for the door, stopping when he realized he didn't have his wallet. Kensi spotted it on the ground and handed it to him, he thanked her then answered the door . He paid the delivery boy,then brought in the large pizza box and medium sized box of boneless chicken wings.

"Smells good." Kensi said, when Nate placed the food on his kitchen counter. He then grabbed some paper plates and napkins.

"Dig in." Nate said, a bit of nervousness in his voice.

Kensi placed her choice of the food on her plate then headed over to the couch,while Nate did the same, before joining her . They ate in semi silence, making small talk about the food and a little bit of work,both clearly choosing to avoid talking about their close physical contact, and almost kiss.

After they finished eating, Nate decided to break the awkward silence, by bringing up what he knew they were both thinking about, and what they both wanted to ignore for the moment. Despite the latter fact, Nate decided to bring it up anyway.

"We should talk about what happened earlier." Nate said turning to face her.

"I don't know what you mean." Kensi said playing dumb.

"Don't you?" Nate said,slightly raising his eyebrow, as he looked at her.

"Oh, you mean , your lousy attempt to hide your Abba CD, which,by the way, you still haven't explained why you have it in your collection." Kensi said with a smirk, and clearly trying to avoid what, she knew, he really meant.

"It was a gag birthday gift, from a college friend." Nate said seeing that she was trying to change the subject,but deciding to leave things alone for now and not push it.

"Sure it was." Kensi said skeptically.

"It was, I've never even opened it." Nate said in his defense.

"Sure.." Kensi said in a, 'I don't believe you',somewhat mocking, voice.

Nate lightly shoved Kensi and immediately regretted it, when she looked at him menacingly and shoved him back a bit harder then he'd shoved her. They playfully smiled at each other ,then silence settled over the room as neither knew what to do or say next, partially out of fear of how they other would react.

"I should probably get going." Kensi said breaking the silence that had settled between them.

"Yeah...it's getting late." Nate said not knowing what else to do but agree with her.

He wouldn't have minded if she'd decided to stay longer, but he wasn't going to voice his thoughts out loud in case she wasn't comfortable staying. Nate then took the empty plate from her and tossed it into the thrash bin, along with the empty bottle of beer. He then walked back over to Kensi, who was putting on her jacket.

"Thanks for the food and beer." Kensi said flashing him a small, slightly nervous, smile.

"You're welcome." Nate said smiling back at her. Nate then walked her to the door and before she turned to exit the apartment, she turned to face him.

"Goodnight Nate." Kensi said, then kissed him on the cheek, before turning and leaving, a smile on her face.

"G-Goodnight Kensi." Nate said after standing in shock, over her spontaneous action,but his words were too slow,the agent was already gone.

Nate turned to go back inside his apartment, his cheek warm and slightly red from the kiss.

* * *

A**/n:**_ So I had a little trouble writing that last part, I had two diff ways in mind on how this chapter would go, and I decided I don't want them to rush into anything so there will be a couple more awkward/tension filled moments for the two before anything major happens, so please be patient and I promise it will be worth the wait to see them come together. I can't give ya'll a specific time for the next update , because midterms are coming up, plus my trusty sidekick,my comp, is experiencing tech difficulties,in fact this whole chapter was written on my trusty cell, thanks to the slide keyboard, so just keep a look out for the next chapter. __Thanks again for reading,__as always reviews/construct criticism/suggestions, NOT flames, and yes there is a diff between construct criticism and outright flames, don't like it then don't read it I would never flame someone no matter how much I didn't like their story or writing style so please don't flame me, anyway I digress , I appreciate your continuing support and hope you all enjoyed this chapter.  
_

_**-Pessi . Rom**  
_


	4. Nervousness and Risk Taking

**A/n: **_So I have a comp again,with windows 7, yay, and __here is chapter three its a little short and that's partly because Its a pretty simple scene that's kind of like an aftermath of the episode "China Town"with a few surprises included,I have the next chapter already in my head,and __ I will start writing that out after this is posted and hope to have it posted early to mid next week, also I've posted the first of my NCISLA one shots and its entitled "I See You", I hope y'all will check it out and let me know what you think, enjoy the new chapter._

**-Pessi . Rom**_  
_

**Chapter Three : **_Nervousness and Risk Taking  
_

''Heading out?'' Kensi asked when she spotted Nate.

''Yeah...it's been a long day...'' Nate said referring to his attempts to be more hands on in their case. Kensi could detect a hint of disappointment in his voice.

'' Nate, seriously,all previous joking aside,you're good at what you do. Just like Callen,Sam and me,are good at what we do. You give us insight in order to do our jobs, you shouldn't feel like you should try to be something you're not. I like you just as you are.'' Kensi said smiling at the psychologist.

''Thanks.'' Nate said smiling back.

''You're welcome.'' Kensi said grabbing her stuff,she too was done for the day.

"Walk you out?" Nate asked.

"Sure." Kensi said putting on her jacket.

They walked out of the building and once again found themselves standing by their cars, neither knowing what exactly to say to the other,but not ready to leave either.

"Did you mean what you said earlier...the partner thing.?" Nate asked breaking the awkward silence.

"I guess...with a bit of training, you wouldn't be so bad." Kensi said nonchalantly.

"Thanks...I think." Nate said not sure what to think of the comment.

"What, don't like my honesty, would you rather I lie to you." Kensi said.

"No...I like that about you,you wouldn't be you if you weren't...if that makes sense." Nate said slightly stammering at his words.

He felt like he did earlier when he kept saying and doing the wrong thing around Kensi. He didn't know what it was, but when he was around her, it was like he lost any sense of his calm and collective observational demeanor.

Sure, some of it was that she somewhat intimidated him, but it was that very characteristic, or rather her whole collective personality, that drew him to her. That drove him to want to go out into the field and work closely with her.

"What are you thinking about?" Kensi said noticing that he wore his concentrated expression.

"Hm,what?" Nate said snapping out of his thoughts.

"You looked lost in your thoughts, what were you thinking about?" Kensi said.

"Oh,nothing..just the case. As a psychologist I can understand why the commander killed him self,but I can't say that I can relate. I've never really had to face that type of inner conflict. Like Hetty said, I live my life analyzing risks and I guess In the process I take less risks in my everyday life." Nate said and even though he hadn't been thinking about that, when Kensi had shaken him from his thoughts, those thoughts _had_ crossed his mind after Hetty had spoken to him.

"And that's why you've been so gun-ho about being out in the field lately." Kensi said beginning to understand where the psychologist was coming from.

"Yeah, I guess so." Nate said.

"Well you can start smaller, and take more risks in other aspects of your life, why don't you try doing something you wouldn't normally do,with someone you probably wouldn't normally approach, or something like that." Kensi suggested.

" That's actually not a bad idea." Nate said smiling.

"Don't sound so surprised, there's more to me then just driving fast and kicking a##." Kensi said with a smirk.

"I can see that." Nate said with a slightly flirtatious smirk.

A brief silence settled between them after Nate's comment, after a few minutes Nate spoke, and his words took Kensi by surprise.

"So about that risk taking, and doing something I wouldn't normally do, with someone I wouldn't normally approach... I think I'll start right here and now." Nate said a hint of nervousness clearly heard in his voice.

"Here, now..." Kensi said not sure what else to say, she had a feeling of what was coming next.

"Yeah...I'm not really good at this, so I'll just say it,Kensi, w-would you have dinner with me sometime." Nate said the nervousness and awkwardness even more pronounced.

"Are you asking me out, Nate?" Kensi said surprised and not sure what else to say.

"Yeah...I am." Nate said waiting for her full reaction.

"Um...what do you mean by _sometime,_ today_, _tomorrow, next week,year?" Kensi said.

"Oh...I guess that is a bit vague,let me try this again." Nate said slightly embarrassed.

"I'm listening." Kensi said.

"What I meant to say was, would you have dinner with me...tomorrow night?" Nate said being more specific this time.

" That's better...and yes I will, Nate." Kensi said smiling at him.

She knew this could easily be a bad idea, the whole date with a co-worker,but things had changed between the special agent and operational psychologist, over the past couple of weeks, and she knew she had to explore whatever it was that had caused the shift in their relationship.

"Really...I mean, great, I'll..." Nate began,but Kensi cut him off.

"Date, or not, you are not driving, slow poke, _I'll_ pick you up at eight." Kensi said.

"Ok, yeah, sure." Nate said not really surprised that she wanted to drive.

"I'll see you tomorrow night then." Kensi said unlocking her car.

"Yeah, goodnight Kensi." Nate said pulling out his own car keys.

"Goodnight Nate, oh and tomorrow night, wear a suit, I love a man in a suit." Kensi said with a smirk.

"Not a problem...where are we going by the way?" Nate asked curious.

" You'll see when we get there." Kensi said, then got in her car and drove off.

Nate smiled to himself then got into his own car, he couldn't believe that he'd asked Kensi Blye out and that she'd said yes. Though he didn't know yet, what they would be doing, he knew that it was bound to be an interesting night.

* * *

A**/n: **_So that's the chapter,thanks for reading. when I started writing it I hadn't intended for it to go that way but the chapter and bunnies had a mind of their own and it just kinda went that way, I hoped you like it and the next chapter of course will be their date,though I have ideas in mind, I'm open to any suggestions of what they end up doing/going for their date, __thanks again for reading, I appreciate it and as always reviews/suggestions/construct criticism is greatly appreciated.  
_

_**-Pessi . Rom**_


	5. Pleasant Surprises

**A/n:**_ Sorry for taking so long to update this, school has kept me pretty busy,but I had a bit of time today on my train ride home from college ,to my hometown for spring break, so enj__oy the new chapter._

**-Pessi . Rom**_  
_

**Thanks to :**

**Scottylass-**_ Glad you're enjoying the story, I agree about Callen/Kensi being to obvious and its a shame at how little fanfiction exist for them, hence why I started this story, thanks for reviewing the previous chapter, I hope you enjoy this new chapter._

**MyOwnWorstCritic- **_I'm glad you are enjoying the story and my writing,thanks for reviewing the previous chapter, I hope you enjoy the new chapter._

**surferdude8225- **_Glad you enjoyed the previous chapter, and as for the labeling for the past chapter, though technically it is the fourth chapter posted, the first chapter was the prologue so the second chapter is actually chapter one, and so on. Thanks for reviewing the previous chapter, I hope you enjoy the new chapter._

**NcisLAgirl- **_Glad you liked the previous chapter , I loved their interaction in china town and I figured it would be the perfect set up for the next step for Kensi/Nate in this story, it sucks that we didn't get a new episode last week or this week,thanks for reviewing the previous chapter, I hope you enjoy the new chapter. _

**anonymous- **You are definitely not alone as a Kensi/Nate AKA NaKed fan, I only wish there were more writers who felt the same cause I not only write but read several genres on here. I'm glad you like the story and the set up/pace. _Thanks also for the constructive criticism part of your review, I'm trying to be more aware of my grammatical errors, and I hope this chapter shows that. Thanks for the review, I hope you enjoy the new chapter._

**SofiaCullen22-**_Glad you like the story, and as for the pairing hopefully my story can bring you over to the Nate Kensi pairing side, lol, thanks for reviewing the previous chapter,and I hope you enjoy the new chapter._

**JTF2- **_Glad you loved the previous chapter,thank you for the review, I hope you enjoy the new chapter._

**Sami Marie- **_Glad you like the way things are developing between Kensi and Nate_**, **_thanks for reviewing the previous chapter, I hope you enjoy the new chapter which is focused on the Nate/Kensi date._**  
**

**Chapter Four :** _Pleasant Surprises_

Nate stood in front of his bathroom mirror, rearranging his tie for the third time. Kensi would be picking him up any minute now. He was feeling as nervous as he'd been when he'd asked her out the night before.

Suddenly there was a knock on the door, he walked over and opened the door. Kensi stood on the other side of the door, Nate was speechless at the sight of her.

Kensi had her hair down with the ends in curls. She was wearing a red dress that hugged all the right curves, while still managing to make her look classy. On her feet she wore black heels ,and had dangle ruby stone earrings in her ears.

"Hi." Kensi said , seeing that Nate was too astounded to speak first.

"Hi, you look... amazing ." Nate said regaining his ability to speak.

"Thanks, you don't look so bad yourself." Kensi said taking in Nate's appearance, as he motioned for her to enter the apartment.

Nate was wearing a casual yet semi formal suit and she couldn't help but note that he looked even more handsome in it, in comparison to the suit he'd worn into the office a few months ago.

"I just need to grab my jacket, then we can head out." Nate said.

"Sounds like a plan." Kensi said. She then waited in the living room, as Nate slipped into his bedroom.

She briefly glanced around the living room. Looking at Nate's music collection, she flashed back to the last time she was standing in his living room. Thoughts of their interrupted moment flooded her mind. Just the thought of how close they'd gotten made her cheeks slightly flush red.

"Ready to go?" Nate asked suddenly appearing next to her.

"What?" Kensi said not noticing when Nate had appeared next to her.

" Are you ready to go?" Nate asked again, seeing he'd surprised her.

"Oh…yeah, I'm ready." Kensi said shaking out of her thoughts.

She followed Nate out of his apartment. They paused outside of the door as he locked the door. They then headed down the hallway and down the stairs. Then out toward the street curb, where Kensi's car was parked.

"So…you going to tell me where we're going?" Nate asked curious as to what they would be doing for the evening.

"I guess I can tell you now. We're going to this Brazilian restaurant , and club, on Venice blvd, called Zabumba." Kensi said as she turned the key in the ignition to start the car.

"Oh, I've heard of it. They've got a great live band. I've never been there though." Nate said. This surprised Kensi, she hadn't expected him to have recognized the restaurant.

"Yeah, they do. Their reservations are usually full on Saturdays ,but I know the owner , he was married to my cousin Claudia.

"Divorced?" Nate asked.

"Widowed . She died from breast cancer two years ago." Kensi explained.

"Oh, sorry for your loss." Nate said, not sure what else to say.

"Thanks." Kensi said. Silence fell over the two as Kensi approached the 405 freeway, she broke the silence, a few minutes later.

"Do you want to listen to the radio? I also have a couple of cd's in a case in the glove compartment. It's only fair since I've already seen your music collection." Kensi said with a smirk.

"In that case, I'll have a look at the cd's." Nate said curious to see what kind of music she had.

He pulled the case out of the glove compartment and started to browse through the cd's. He spotted a couple of alternative bands, rock, a bit of Jazz and R&B , salsa, and other dance mixes, as well as some popular Brazilian musicians.

"Find something you like?" Kensi asked, when she briefly glanced over and saw that he was no longer flipping through the pages, and had pulled out a cd.

"Yep." Nate said , then put the cd into the player.

When Samba music came on, Kensi was again surprised that he'd chosen that, out of all the other CD's. She wondered why he'd chosen it, so she asked him.

"Why'd you choose that?" Kensi asked.

"I recognized the album, I was actually planning on buying it on itunes, this weekend." Nate answered.

"Really, you listen to samba? I didn't notice any with your cd's." Kensi said not quite believing that the cd he'd chosen, just happened to be one of her favorites.

"Yeah, I do, and I've also got a ton of music on my laptop, the music in my living room is my older stuff." Nate said.

"Hm..." Kensi said, as she exited the freeway.

"What?" Nate asked seeing that she was clearly thinking about what he'd just said.

"Nothing. We're almost there." Kensi said, then turned to volume up on the music which was playing one of her favorites.

"This is a great song." Nate said tapping his hand to the beat.

"Yeah, it's one of my favorites." Kensi said slightly smiling.

They arrived at the restaurant five minutes later. Zabumba was located on the corner of the street, it was a fairly new looking building that was two stories tall. The first floor was the restaurant and the second floor housed the club portion of the business.

Kensi pulled up to the valet area , then she and Nate exited the car. They walked up to the front side of the restaurant. There was a line on the side of the building for those waiting to get into the club. It wasn't necessary to wait in the line for the patrons who would be dining in the restaurant ,so Nate and Kensi were able to walk inside. Once they walked in, they were greeted by a Man not much older then them.

" Kensi, it's great to see you, how are you?" The man said kissing her cheek in greeting."

" Hello, Manuel, I've been doing fine. Manuel , this is Nate." Kensi said introducing.

"Hi, nice to meet you." Nate said extending his hand.

"Nice to meet you too. Rosa will show you to your table, let me know if you need anything. Enjoy yourselves." Manuel said.

"Thanks." Nate and Kensi both said.

Rosa, their waitress, showed them to a two person table in the middle left side of the restaurant, though it was in the middle there was still enough seclusion for privacy.  
Rosa handed them their menus, then came back shortly with a basket of bread.

" Any recommendations?" Nate asked Kensi, as he looked over the menu.

"Well…everything on the menu is good, but I usually get the platter with rice ,stewed beef, fried banana's and greens. That's also good with chicken or fried goat." Kensi said.

"I'll go with the platter with the goat then. Today's all about trying new things, and taking risks, right." Nate said smiling.

"That does sound good, I think I'll get that too." Kensi said smiling at him as she put her menu back down on the table.

Rosa came back and took their drink orders, as well as their food orders. They'd both ordered cokes for their beverages. They had random small talk, mostly about music, as they waited for their food to arrive.

"I can't believe you have their new album before I do." Kensi said referring to the current artist they were talking about.

"I can make you a copy, if you'd like." Nate said.

"That would be great, thanks Nate." Kensi said smiling.

"Fried goat with rice, greens and green banana." Rosa said appearing with their food.

"Thank you." They both said to Rosa, who gave them a friendly smile.

"This looks and smells wonderful." Nate said looking at the food.

"Wait till you taste it, its even more amazing." Kensi said .

"I'll take your word for it." Nate said then picked up his fork and knife and dug into the food. He took a bite of the goat and rice, then began to chew.

"What do you think?" Kensi asked after he swallowed.

"Wow, I have to say, this is the best fried goat I've ever tasted." Nate said a satisfied grin on his face.

"Have you even had fried goat before?" Kensi asked.

"No, but this is…amazing." Nate said, before taking another bite. Kensi started to laugh.

"What?" Nate asked, once he'd swallowed again.

"You're such a dork." Kensi said with a smirk.

"Guess, I am." Nate said not taking her comment in offense.

Kensi dug into her own food, and they continued to talk about music as they ate. The conversation switched to jazz, and they found they also had some of the same artist in common.

After they'd finished eating, Kensi went to the restroom, while Nate waited for Rosa to bring them their check. As she looked into the mirror after she'd washed her hands , she thought about how the date had been going.

So far things had been going great. It's not that she expected things to go badly, she just didn't expect it to go as well as it was going. She was learning a lot about Nate, and was really enjoying being in his company. She reapplied her lip gloss then exited the bathroom, rejoining Nate at their table.

"What do you want to do next?" Nate asked her, the night was still young.

"I was thinking we could check out the band upstairs at the club." Kensi said not sure if Nate was into the club scene. She knew he listened to the music, but listening to a type of music, and going to a club that played the music were two separate things.

"Yeah, sounds good." Nate said, clearly up for it.

"Cool." Kensi said.

When Rosa appeared with their check, there was a bit of discussion about who would pay. Nate wanted to pay since he'd been the one to ask her out, while Kensi wanted to pay since she'd brought him to the restaurant.

In the end , they decided that Nate would pay the bill, and that Kensi would cover whatever drinks they got at the bar inside of the club.

They headed upstairs to the club and could hear the band playing a fast salsa song. There were couples on the dance floor dancing. And there were also people just standing or sitting in a lounge section, having drinks and enjoying the music.

They ordered drinks at the bar, and took a seat on a medium sized couch in the lounge section. They listened to about three songs, when Nate turned to her as the band started to play a song he recognized .

"Do you want to dance?" Nate asked standing up and extended her his hand.

"Are you going to step on my feet?" Kensi said with a smirk.

"There's more to me than operational psychology, you know." Nate said in response.

"I've noticed that actually." Kensi said standing up and placing her hand in his.

Nate led her onto the dance floor, still holding her hand. He gently placed his other hand on her waist pulling her closer to him. She placed her free hand on his waist, finding it odd that it didn't feel awkward at all.

They danced together to the music, their eye's locked on each other the whole time. Even when he spun her away from him, as they danced, their gazes still held. The song ended and Kensi stared surprised at Nate.

"Wow…how did you learn to dance like that." Kensi said as a slower song came on and they resumed their close position.

"I have two younger sisters, both who were into dance. My Mom would make me be their practice dance partner, so I guessed I picked up a couple of things." Nate said nonchalantly.

"I'd say it was more than just a couple of things." Kensi said.

"You're not bad on your feet either, you're way better than me." Nate said humbly.

"True, but you're full of surprises." Kensi with a smirk.

"A good thing, I hope." Nate said as they again held each other 's gaze.

"Definitely." Kensi said as they continued to sway to the slow steady rhythm of the song.

* * *

A**/n: **The restaurant mentioned in this chapter is an actual restaurant, but other than the name,location and the fact that it is a restaurant/club that has live music, everything else was made up by me, I've never even been to the actual restaurant,but it got great reviews on Google. I hope you enjoyed this chapter, obviously since we don't know much about Nate and very little of Kensi's background, I have to make some things up as I go. Anywho _thanks for reading,my spring break is extended due to my awesome class schedule, so I'm on break starting today till the __12th of April and I hope to update this at lea__st twice after this update, and possibly, one of those updates will be later this week because I have part of the next chapter laid out in my head. Thanks again for reading, I appreciate it and as always reviews/suggestions/construct criticism is greatly appreciated.  
_

_**-Pessi . Rom**_


	6. Reluctance and Perseverance

**A/n:**_ So here's the next chapter, those of you who may be familiar with my writing style know I never make things easy for my couples ,hence my pen-name ,so there's a bit of angst in this chapter, but its definitely lighter than my usual stuff so its not too bad, anywho enj__oy the new chapter._

**-Pessi . Rom**_  
_

**Thanks to :**_ quiltingbren, NcisLAgirl, JTF2 and Sami Marie for reviewing the previous chapter, I appreciate it and hope you enjoy this new chapter. Also thanks to those that have added me or this story to a favorite, or alerts list, I appreciate your interest as well._

**Chapter Five :** _Reluctance and Perseverance_

Kensi and Nate danced some more. Then they took a break to just listen to the band. They decided to leave,when they saw that the club would be closing in forty-five minutes ,and there was just a DJ playing chatted some more on the drive,then made it back to Nate's apartment. Standing outside of his door,neither knew what to say or do next.

''I had a great time.'' Kensi said breaking the silence.

''Me too. You've got some mad skills on the dance floor.'' Nate said, and Kensi laughed.

''Ok,now, you're officially a dork.'' Kensi said laughing some more.

'' Now,is that good thing or a bad thing. '' Nate said a bit of flirting in his voice.

''Hm,I dunno yet.'' Kensi said with a smirk.

''So I was thinking ,maybe we shou...'' Nate began but Kensi cut him off before he could continue.

'' You know what,I should go,its late. But this was fun,see you Monday.'' Kensi said giving him a quick kiss on the cheek and walking away.

''Yeah,uh, see you Monday...'' Nate said a little confused to why she'd suddenly cut him off.

He watched her walk away,then unlocked and entered his apartment. He then, after changing into his PJ's , headed off to bed.

Kensi walked to her car,feeling kind of bad. She knew what Nate wanted to ask her,but she thought it best to not even give him a chance to ask it. Yeah,she'd had fun with him,it was probably one of the best dates she'd gone on. She'd seen a whole new side to Nate,one that she really liked. But she couldn't go on a second date with him,the fact that they worked together on a daily basis made things that much more complicated. And she didn't want to risk that.

They were friends and that's all she could let them be. And with that last thought she got into her car and drove off. She arrived at her apartment ten minutes later. And although she had decided she wouldn't go out with Nate again, she couldn't get the details of their date, especially when he'd held her as they danced,out of her head.

* * *

_**One Week Later**_

''Kensi wait up.'' Nate called after her before she ascended the steps to the second floor.

She considered ignoring him,but he was too close for her to pretend she hadn't heard him. So she turned around, and waited for him to walk over.

''Nate,whats up?'' Kensi asked.

'' I've got something for you, been trying to give it to you all week,but I guess things have been kinda hectic this week, and we've only seen each other in the briefings.'' Nate said.

''Yeah.'' Kensi said,but truth was, she'd sort of been avoiding him. At least outside of briefings, or if he had to tell her something about the case or a suspect analysis.

She'd even been avoiding him in the parking area. Parking where she knew, she probably wouldn't run into him.

''Its in my office.'' Nate said breaking her out of her thoughts.

''Ok,lead the way'' She said mentally scolding herself for her dorky comment.

They walked up the stairs and toward his office. Once inside Nate walked over to his desk and pulled out a clear CD case.

''Is that the copy of that samba CD?'' Kensi asked.

''Yep, and it has some bonus tracks.'' Nate said, as she took the CD from his hand. Their hands briefly touched in the exchange and she felt her cheeks start to warm.

''Thanks,Nate.'' Kensi said smiling at him.

''Your welcome.'' Nate said.

Kensi smiled at him again,then turned to leave the room,but Nate stopped her when he spoke.

''So,is it me, or have you sort of been avoiding me all week?'' Nate said,making her stop in her step.

Kensi wasn't expecting that, she should of known that Nate as a psychologist would pick up on her subtle avoidance. Or what she thought was subtle avoidance.

''Oh...yeah, guess I sort of have.'' Kensi said knowing he would see right through her lie,so she figured she might as well tell the truth.

''Why? Is it because of our date? '' Nate asked.  
saying the date part quietly since his office door was open.

''No, I had a great time,Saturday...'' Kensi said.

''But...'' Nate said sensing there was something else.

''But,when I dropped you off, I could tell you wanted to ask me out again.'' Kensi said.

''Oh,so that's why you cut me off mid sentence, then left.'' Nate said no longer confused by what happened.

''Yeah...sorry about that,its just that I...'' Kensi began,but Nate cut her off this time.

''But you don't do second dates.'' Nate said seeing where she was going.

'' No...I don't. '' Kensi said.

''But, you didn't even give me the chance to ask.'' Nate said.

"It wouldn't matter, whether you asked or not the answer would still have been no." Kensi said.

"Hmm..." Nate said.

"What? Don't do that Nate, don't analyze it into something its not." Kensi said recognizing that look in his eye.

"Sorry,its become sort of an automatic thing. " Nate said apologizing.

"I should probably go." Kensi said, but again Nate stopped her.

"Would you stop doing that." Nate said.

"Stop doing what?" Kensi said.

"Running away from me. I get why you don't want to go out with me again, and before you make your final, final, decision, think about this. All the things that you've listed in the past as ruining a second date, wouldn't apply to us. I've seen you antsy,bored,distant,impatient, irritable..." Nate started to say, but Kensi cut him off at the last sentence.

"Is this supposed to make me feel better about second dates, cause its not helping." Kensi said.

"I'm not finished." Nate said slightly irritated.

"Oh..sorry." Kensi said.

"As I was saying, I've seen you as all of that, but I've also seen the charming, beautiful, funny, independent , stubborn and spontaneous side of you, and frankly I like both sides and you just wouldn't be you without both. I can see through your defense mechanisms, and just see you. And I want to get to know that Kensi, the real Kensi, not just the agent, but the whole person, better." Nate said.

"Are you done?" Kensi asked when he stopped speaking.

"Yes." Nate said. Kensi was about to say something,but suddenly Sam entered the room.

" There you two are, Eric has something to show us regarding the case." Sam said.

"K, I'll be right there." Kensi said. Then Sam left after giving them both a curious look.

"Just think about it, and let me know if you change your mind." Nate said after Sam left.

"I'll think about." Kensi said then walked out of the office. This time Nate didn't stop her, but instead followed her to the briefing room.

* * *

_**Later that Day**_

"Come in." Nate said when he heard a knock on his office door, he was working on some paperwork, before heading home.

"Hey..." Kensi said walking in.

"Hey." Nate said back, then waited for her to speak.

"So, I've been thinking...about what you said earlier. It was kinda sweet, and it makes sense. And I'm not really good at these type of things, which you know already. But I guess what I'm trying to say is that I want to get to know the _real _Nate better too." Kensi said.

" So is that an official yes to a second date?" Nate asked holding back the smile that was threatening to light up his face.

"Yeah,why not. And I'll even let you choose where we go this time." Kensi said with a smirk.

"Really? Can I drive?" Nate asked.

" Yes, and No. One step at a time, I'm still doing the driving." Kensi said stubbornly.

"I'm fine with that, as long as I get to take you out again." Nate said flashing her a smile.

"Although technically, since I'm driving, I'm the one taking _you _out." Kensi said with a smirk.

"So, hows Friday at eight?" Nate asked.

"Sounds great, where are we going?" Kensi asked.

"Well, its my turn to pick, so it'll be a surprise til Friday." Nate said.

" And I bet It'll be interesting." Kensi said.

"That's the plan." Nate said.

"You done here?" Kensi asked.

" Just about. Want to walk out together." Nate asked.

" Yeah, I've kind of missed our little routine." Kensi said.

"Really?" Nate asked, as he signed the last page of paperwork.

"Yeah." Kensi said smiling at him.

* * *

A**/n: **_I had planned to update this sooner but I got caught up in updating my other fics/doing spring break stuff like hanging with friends and family,I'll try to get another chapter up next week, but I'll be jumping back into school,plus I've got school related activities going on this week too,so the update might be as late as next weekend, anywho __thanks for reading, I appreciate it and as always reviews/suggestions/construct criticism and any ideas you may have, is greatly appreciated.  
_

_**-Pessi . Rom**_


	7. Casual Fun

**A/n:**_ here's the new chapter,I'm basically done with school,only one exam left mid next week and its a piece of cake. I've only been to the location of their date in this chapter once, and the majority of the descriptions are from the official website,so if I get anything wrong,its cause I'm not that familiar with the location, anywho enj__oy the new chapter._

**-Pessi . Rom**_  
_

**Thanks to :** _NcisLAfan,Gwaelinn,Salekdarling,Pink Wolf Princess,NcisLAgirl,Sami Marie and_

_quiltingbren for reviewing the previous chapter,I appreciate it and hope y'all enjoy the new chapter._

_Also thanks to those that have added me or this story to a favorite, or alerts list, I appreciate your interest as well._

**Chapter Six:** _Casual Fun_

Nate brushed his hair and teeth, applied a little bit of axe body spray, then headed to his bedroom. Checking the time on the clock,it was five minutes to eight.

Kensi would be arriving to pick him up any minute now. He slipped on his coat,placed his wallet in his pocket,and grabbed his cell off the lamp table near his bed.

Just like before their first date, he was excited,yet nervous. He really hoped she'd like what he'd planned out for their date. It was going to be simple,but fun. At least he hoped she'd consider it as fun.

It would definitely be less formal then their date at Zabumba. He heard a knock on his door and headed out of his bedroom and toward the door. He'd told Kensi to dress casual and comfortable for their date ,and to make sure to bring a warm jacket.

He looked through the peephole,even though he was pretty sure it was her,before opening the door. He opened the door and smiled at Kensi, she hugged him hello taking in that warmth of his hug as well as his scent,making her slightly blush, then entered the apartment.

She was wearing a plain baby blue tank top,dark blue skinny jeans and black and white converse. Half of her hair was pulled up in a pony tail,creating a layer over the rest of her hair,which was hanging down. She wore simple clear stones in her ear and a light shade of barely noticeable red lipstick on her lips. She had a a black hoodie over her left arm.

''So,I changed my mind,you can drive tonight.'' Kensi said as she stood in Nate's living room.

''Really...''Nate said not quite believing Kensi would give up the opportunity to drive,especially in her own car.

''Yes,but only this once. And we're taking your car.'' Kensi said referring to Nate's Honda Accord.

''I knew there was a catch.'' Nate said with a smirk.

''Whatever,grab your keys and lets go. Where are we going by the way?' Kensi asked.

''You'll see,when we get there.'' Nate said grabbing his keys from the hook on the wall near the door.

''Ok.'' Kensi said following him out of the apartment.

''Really,you're giving up that easily.'' Nate said surprised,she was being patient.

''What,I can be patient...'' Kensi said,pausing when Nate gave her an incredulous look.

''Well, when I want to be.'' Kensi finished after his look.

''I didn't say you couldn't.'' Nate said as he locked his apartment door ,then turned to face her.

''You didn't have to,you don't exactly have the stoic thing down.'' Kensi said slightly teasing him.

''Whatever'' Nate said pretending to be offended.

Kensi just laughed as the two headed down the stairs and toward the parking garage where Nate's car was parked. He unlocked the car using the remote attached to the keys and opened the door for Kensi who smiled at him.

Normally she wasn't the kind of girl who wanted guys to open doors for her,or pull out her seat. But with Nate,she knew he was genuinely doing it to be sweet and not out of traditional social mannerisms.

Nate got into the drivers seat,and after buckling his seat belt,he turned the key in the ignition to start the car. Once he was out of the parking garage and driving on the street he spoke.

"Have you had a chance to listen to the cd yet?" Nate asked referring to the cd he'd burned for her.

"No, not yet,with work this week being so hectic."Kensi said.

"I figured as much,I've got a copy in the cd player, if you want to listen to it now." Nate said.

"Really,yeah, for sure." Kensi said, and Nate hit the cd button on his stereo system in the car.

Samba music started to play and the two casually chatting as Nate got on the 405 freeway. They drove for about twenty minutes and as they exited the freeway,Kensi began to recognize their surroundings.

"Are we going to the pier?" Kensi asked recognizing the area.

"Yeah,I thought it might be fun..." Nate said waiting for her reaction.

"I haven't been here in forever,I love the Santa Monica pier." Kensi said excited.

" I remember you mentioning it a couple months back." Nate said glad that he'd made the right decision in choosing the pier as the location of their second date.

"I did, didn't I." Kensi said smiling at the fact that he'd remembered. They found parking then headed toward the pier.

"I was thinking we could check out Pacific Park." Nate said referring to the amusement park located on the pier.

"Sounds great." Kensi said, as the walked side by side.

"What do you want to do first?" Nate asked as they stood at the entrance.

"Food,then games?" Kensi said.

"Sure,what are you in the mood to eat?" Nate asked.

"They have great burgers at the harbor grill." Kensi said.

"Sounds good." Nate said and they went over to the harbor grill.

They ordered their food, Nate got a burger and fries,while Kensi got a chicken sandwich .When their food was done, they grabbed seats in the food court seating ate then headed over to the games area. They played at the long range basketball game,Nate missed the basket,while Kensi made it in and won a small stuffed animal which she gave to a little girl who walked past them.

They then went over to the balloon pop race game,where Nate won Kensi a stuffed dog. They played a couple more random fair type games found on the pier, then they decided to check out the rides now that they'd given the food they'd eaten enough time to settle in their stomachs.

They rode the west coaster,which Kensi loved,especially the adrenaline rush and the view,while Nate,who loved it a little less than Kensi did tried to keep his screaming in his head as the roller coaster sped across the metal track.

"I could ride that again." Kensi said when they got off of it.

"How about we go for ice cream first, you said earlier you wanted to get one from Carnation Ice Cream." Nate said.

"I think I like that idea even better." Kensi said grabbing Nate's hand in hers and leading him back toward the food court. Nate couldn't help but smile at how it felt to have her finger linked with his.

"Can I get one vanilla cone with sprinkles and a strawberry cone." Nate said ordering their ice cream.

"Thank you." Kensi said when Nate handed her the vanilla cone.

They walked down the pier eating their ice cream and looking out at the dark ocean, with small waves coming toward the pier as the tide rose stopped when they got to the end of the pier.

"I love the view here,its so beautiful." Kensi as she took in their surroundings.

"Yeah,it is." Nate said,but he wasn't just talking about the view from the pier. The moonlight seemed to illuminate Kensi as she stared out at the water a peaceful look on her face, and he was captivated by her natural beauty.

"Its even prettier on the Pacific Wheel." Kensi said referring to the Ferris wheel on the pier.

"You want to ride it?" Nate asked.

"You sure you can handle more heights after that roller coaster?" Kensi said with a smirk.

"I'm fine with heights." Nate said,but not with much certainty.

"Your face on the roller coaster didn't agree with you." Kensi said.

"I'll be fine, it wasn't the heights." Nate said.

"Ah,so it was the speed." Kensi said with a smirk.

"Come on,they're getting ready to let new people on." Nate said, this time grabbing her hand in his and leading her toward the Pacific Wheel.

They headed toward the ferris wheel and after the current occupants got off, they got on. The wheel slowly moved to allow for other couples to get to the other available empty seats.

"Wow,the view is even better up here." Nate said taking in the aerial view.

"Told ya." Kensi said as she too took in the view. She started to slightly shiver, which caught Nate's attention.

"Forgot your jacket in the car?" Nate asked.

"Yeah." Kensi said rubbing her arms.

Nate moved in closer to her and wrapped his arm around her, pulling her closer to him, and moving his arm up her arm,to warm her up. She relaxed in the warmth of his arms as the ferris wheel continued to spin.

After they got off of the wheel they walked around some of the shops. Kensi bought a shell bracelet from the Oatman Rock Shop, and after getting churro's from the Churro Man Co. Cart, they left the pier and headed back to Nate's car.

* * *

Kensi had walked with Nate back to his apartment and they were now standing outside of his apartment door,neither knowing what exactly to say or do next. After a few minutes, Kensi broke the silence.

"This was fun." Kensi said holding her stuffed dog.

"I'm glad you had fun...I was kind of worried it was too simple." Nate confessed.

"No,it was perfect,I haven't had this much fun in awhile,work doesn't exactly leave much time for me to do things like this that much anymore. " Kensi said smiling at him.

"I know what you mean,even when Hetty forced me to take vacation days,it wasn't as relaxing as being out with you tonight." Nate admitted.

"That's very sweet. " Kensi said looking into his eye's.

"Maybe.. we can do this again soon?" Nate said not wanting to push it. They definitely had a connection,but being as they were both kind of shaky when it came to dating and relationships,he didn't want to screw things up,by moving too fast.

"Yeah. Good night Nate." Kensi said kissing his cheek.

She pulled back and met her eyes with his. Before she knew it, she'd moved closer to him and her lips were on his and they shared a gentle,yet passionate,kiss.

* * *

**A/n:** _I've got mixed feelings about this chapter,I feel like they may be slightly OOC,I dunno,but I hoped y'all liked it anyway and after Tuesdays ep,I figured y'all deserve a happy update from me, I'm not sure about including the events of that chapter in this story,but I can go either way,but I think it would fit with the title,cause you know they were all experiencing powerful emotions and this story was based from the ep where he disappears and it could bring Nate/Kensi closer. Also I've got two options for where to take the storyline next. **option 1:** keep going at a slow pace, consecutive dates etc.** option 2:** skip ahead a few months to established relationship with typical relationship issues/insecurities/working together and dating. Let me know which one y'all want to see,I've got ideas for both. Anywho __thanks for reading, I appreciate it and as always reviews/suggestions/construct criticism and any ideas you may have, is greatly appreciated.  
_

_**-Pessi . Rom**_


	8. Power In A Kiss

**A/n: **_Sorry it's been so long since I've updated, but I was focusing on another set of stories, as well as two new NCISLA stories which I've posted over the weekend, and I hope that those of you reading this will check them out, anywho__ enj__oy the new chapter._

**-Pessi . Rom**_  
_

**Thanks to :** _SofiaCullen22 ,Pink Wolf Princess, Michalice W.,NcisLAfan and lagentillefan_

_for reviewing the previous chapter,I appreciate it and hope y'all enjoy the new chapter._

_Also thanks to those that have added me or this story to a favorite, or alerts list, I appreciate your interest as well._

**Chapter Seven:** _Power In A Kiss  
_

_She pulled back and met her eyes with his. Before she knew it, she'd moved closer to him and her lips were on his and they shared a gentle,yet passionate, kiss._ She moved in closer wrapping her arms around his neck as his went around her waist pulling her closer and allowing them to deepen the kiss.

" I don't know why I did that..." Kensi said suddenly pulling away. Nate was too shocked to speak at first, but he quickly regained his composure_._

"I'm glad you did." Nate said with a smirk.

"I should go." Kensi said a hint of nervousness in her voice.

"Ok." Nate said, deciding it was best not to say anything else. He felt such a powerful connection with her in that kiss , and he was sure she felt it, and that it probably scared her. Truth was it scared him a little too, he hadn't connected with someone like that in, well, never.

"I'll see you Monday." Kensi said picking up the stuffed dog , Nate had won her at the pier. She'd dropped it when she and Nate had gotten physically closer during the kiss.

"Yeah." Nate said. He watched as she turned and walked down the hall.

He couldn't believe she'd kissed him, he wasn't sure how exactly she'd felt about him until the moment. He shook himself out of his thoughts and unlocked his apartment door, slipping inside a big smile on his face.

Kensi made her way to her car, placing the stuffed dog plushie on the front passenger seat. She thought back to her fun evening with Nate. Then her thoughts moved to their kiss. She really didn't know why she did it, but she couldn't stop thinking about the way his lips felt against hers, and the way his tongue moved inside her mouth.

She shook herself out of her thoughts, and inserted her key into the ignition, starting the car and driving off toward her apartment. Thought's of Nate still lingering on her mind.

* * *

**_Monday NCIS OSP 10:00 am_**

"Kens?" Callen said.

"Huh, what?" Kensi said clearly distracted as she sat at her desk

"Where did you go just now?" Callen said, he and Kensi had been discussing a basketball game.

"Nowhere." Kensi said. Callen gave her a raised eyebrow look, luckily, Hetty appeared so she didn't have to answer any more of Callen's questions.

" Eric has just informed me, we have a new case." Hetty said, and Callen and Kensi knew that meant they should head upstairs, so that's what they did.

Sam and Nate were already there, and once she and Callen walked in, Eric began the briefing.

"Petty officer Pete Ryeland disappeared after leaving his home this morning, he never made it to work..." Eric began.

He then explained that the officer was part of a top secret naval operation, and that if the information he was working on got into the wrong hands, it would spell trouble not only for Los Angeles but for the United States as a whole.

" We believe that the petty officer has been kidnapped by a group led by Alcaeda extremist Hashim Al Deran , highly dangerous and determined to get what they want." Nate said, folder with profile information in hand.

"Any leads?" Callen asked.

"Yes, Al Deran's second in command , Rashem, no known last name." Eric said pulling up the file on the computer.

"The word on the street is that Rashem will be offering up Ryeland to the best buyer." Sam said , having already been briefed a little on the case.

"Mr. Callen will go undercover as a representative for a potential buyer, Sam and Kensi will be on backup and surveillance." Hetty said suddenly appearing. The team split up and went there separate ways to tend to their different assignments.

* * *

_**Few Hours Later**_

"Come in?" Nate said when he heard a knock at his office door.

"Hey." Kensi said walking in.

"Hey. Case wrapped up?" Nate asked looking up from a profile he was reading.

"Yep, Ryeland is safe home with his family and Hashem is headed to an undisclosed location, I figured I'd avoid the paperwork as long as I could." Kensi said as the reason for her appearance in his office.

" Did you want to talk?" Nate asked seeing that she had something on her mind.

"No, not really..." Kensi said shifting her wait.

"You sure, seems like you've got something on your mind." Nate said, always observant.

" I guess this case, just made me think about Dom, and how we haven't found him yet, or any leads. Ryeland got to go back to his family, they no longer have to wait and worry about where he is , or when he'll come home. But Dom's family..." Kensi said, not being able to say more, the emotion getting to her.

"His family, is still waiting." Nate finished for her.

"Yeah..." Kensi said.

"It's understandable to feel like you should be doing more to help Dom, and when a lead comes up, you, me, and the rest of the team, will be there to find him, and bring him back to his family." Nate said.

"Thanks, Nate." Kensi said feeling a little better.

"Did you want to talk about anything else?" Nate asked, seeing that there was also something else on the NCIS junior field agents mind.

"Yeah...about Friday night, I don't usually kiss a guy like that on a second date...but" Kensi began to say, but Nate cut her off.

"It's ok, I'm glad you did...It was..." Nate said, and this time Kensi cut him off.

"Intense." Kensi said, finishing his sentence.

"Not the word I was going to use, but ok." Nate said.

"What I mean, is that I can't stop thinking about it, or why I did it." Kensi said.

"Do you regret it?" Nate asked confused, he wasn't exactly following her, usually she was easier to read.

"No...not at all. I just...what exactly do you want out of whatever this is between us?" Kensi said.

"Well, to get to know you better." Nate said.

"And..." Kensi said.

"Let me ask you this, what do_ you_ want out of this?" Nate asked.

"I asked you first?" Kensi said.

"That wasn't an answer." Nate said seeing that she was avoiding answering the question, even though she was the one who had opened the can of worms, so to speak.

"I know..." Kensi said not sure what to say, she hadn't expected him to ask the question back.

"I'll tell you what I want..." Nate said standing up from his desk and walking over to her.

"And what is that..." Kensi taking note of how close Nate was to her.

"To kiss you again...and to keep kissing you as long as you want me to." Nate said, cupping her face in his hands and leaning down and kissing her. He felt that powerful spark again as he kissed her and she kissed him back.

"I want that too." Kensi said when Nate broke the kiss.

"Join me for dinner?" Nate asked.

"I'd like that." Kensi said.

* * *

**A/n:** _That's it for now, I made Nate kind of gutsy in this and I hope it wasn't too out of character for him or for Kensi, and that this talk of there's wasn't too fast. I figured since they've been dancing around each other for awhile and the fact that they've also worked together for awhile, that it wouldn't seem too fast for them to have that kind of talk after only two dates. I will eventually incorporate the whole Dom being found episode in this story, but it wont be for another couple of chapters, thanks for_ reading, _I appreciate it and as always reviews/suggestions/construct criticism and any ideas you may have, is greatly appreciated.  
_

_**-Pessi . Rom**_


	9. Spending Time

**A/n: **_Sorry it's been so long since I've updated, but life as always, gets in the way sometimes,but I'd like to(try to) finish up this story before I go back to university at the end of august,anywho enjoy the new chapter it picks up where the previous chapter left off and will contain spoilers for ep 17 "full throttle". From this point on the rest of the story will contain slight spoilers from episodes 17-22, I may or may not include the events from the two part-er season finale, enjoy the new chapter.  
_

**-Pessi . Rom**_  
_

**Thanks to :** _Pink Wolf Princess, lagentillefan, Hope06 and SofiaCullen22__ for reviewing the previous chapter,I appreciate it and hope y'all enjoy the new chapter._

_Also thanks to those that have added me or this story to a favorite, or alerts list, I appreciate your interest as well._

**Disclaimer:** _I don't own anything , but I wouldn't mine owning Nate,l do you think Shane Brennan would let me have him,lol_

**Chapter Eight:** _Spending Time  
_

Nate and Kensi left the OSP and headed to a local Chinese restaurant for dinner. They ate, chatted and laughed, before heading back to Kensi place. They stood outside of Kensi's apartment door.

''Thanks for dinner.'' Kensi said smiling at him.

'' You're welcome.'' Nate said smiling back at her.

'' I'll see you tomorrow.'' Kensi said reaching into her purse for her house keys.

'' Goodnight Kensi.'' Nate said resisting the urge to kiss her,instead he smiled.

''Goodnight Nate." Kensi said smiling back, before entering her apartment.

She had wanted to kiss him, but after their talk at dinner , about taking things slow, she thought it best that she didn't make another move like the one after their second date. Kensi couldn't help, but keep the smile she'd given him, on her face as she prepared herself for bed, their, what she supposed was their third date, still on her mind.

After Nate watched Kensi walk into her apartment, he made his way to his car, a smile still on his face as well as he thought back to dinner and the conversation that followed.

**_Earlier that evening_**

_"I'll have the broccoli beef with white rice, and a side of dumplings" Nate said ordering his food._

_"And I'll have the beef fried rice." Kensi said ordering second because she was still deciding what to order._

_"I'll be right back with your drinks." Their waiter said._

_"So..." Nate said, once the waiter left._

_"So..." Kensi said back, a slightly nervous smile on her face. There was a bit of awkward silence, as the waiter returned with their drinks and a basket of Chinese bread sticks._

_"Did you really mean what you said earlier?" Kensi said breaking the silence after the waiter left again._

_"Mean what exactly?" Nate asked confused._

_"Earlier, what you said in your office..." Kensi said. Nate looked at her puzzled, then racked his brain._

_"Oh...you mean about..." Nate said,but Kensi cut him off._

_"Yeah." Kensi._

_"Yes, I meant it." Nate said._

_"Good." Kensi said, then the waiter reappeared with their food. They casually talked and ate , and decided to take a stroll around the area._

_"It feels good out here." Kensi said commenting on the cool night air, it wasn't too chilly, it felt just right._

_"Yeah, its nice out." Nate said as they walked. Without thinking he gently grasped her hand with his, and surprisingly she responded by interlocking there fingers._

_"This is nice too." Kensi said referring to their hand holding._

_"Kensi..." Nate said after a few minutes of them walking side by side in silence._

_"Yeah." Kensi said stopping and facing him, their finger still entwined._

_"I just want you to know that I don't want to rush things, I like spending time with you, and if you suddenly decide that's as far as you want to take it,being friends...then that's fine too." Nate said a hint of nervousness in his voice. He and Kensi had a history of being upfront and honest with each other, so he felt he shouldn't stop now._

_"Nate, it's a little too late to go back to just friends ,not that I want to...and for the record I like spending time with you too. Why don't we just take this one step at a time...keep spending time together." Kensi said flashing him a smile._

_"Ok, sounds good to me." Nate said smiling back._

_"We should probably get back to the car...work tomorrow and all." Kensi said. So the two walked back to the restaurant parking lot, and Nate drove Kensi home._

**Present Time**

Kensi smiled thinking about how cute Nate was when he got all nervous and flustered. It made her smile even more at the thought that she was the cau_se._ She turned off her bedside lamp and settled into bed. Nate unlocked the door to his apartment. Thoughts of his conversation with Kensi still on his mind. He couldn't wait to spend more time with her, and getting to know her outside of work.

* * *

**_9:30 am NCIS Office of Special Projects_**

Kensi and Nate sat at one of the tables in the bull pen looking over some files when Sam and Callen appeared, arguing back and forth as usual.

"Sam claims to know the name of every freeway in California ." Callen said turning his attention to Kensi and Nate.

"Oh yeah, what about the 8?" Kensi asked.

"Ocean Beach Freeway." Sam quickly said.

"The 2?" Nate asked.

"Glendale Freeway." Sam answered.

"The 215?" Callen asked. Sam hesitated, and took a moment to think about it.

"Got him." Callen said triumphantly.

"Escondido Freeway, bam!" Sam said. Suddenly Eric appeared upstairs riding a segway. They all started laughing at the sight of their team member.

"Oh my God, are you kidding me." Kensi said cracking up, Nate, Sam and Callen continuing to laugh as well.

"Nice geek chariot." Sam said.

"Mock away bipeds, I've shaved off forty-three minutes of walking time, which I can now apply to my work." Eric said.

Callen went on to tease Eric while also making fun of Sam. Eric responded by talking about the significance of what one drives to who a person is. Sam agreed throwing that in Callen's face, while Callen just rolled his eyes . They all headed up to the OPS room, where Eric began the briefing.

Their new case involved a petty officer named James Rush, who was on leave from a navy base in San Diego. Eric went on to explain that Rush died in an illegal street racing accident. He then showed them footage of the accident, while Nate voiced some insight on the "sport". Kensi then went over his file which had some type of encryption, which led them to believe maybe it wasn't an accident. The team separated , Kensi going out with Callen to investigate the crash scene.

* * *

_Few Hours Later_

"Just dropped off Rush's Mitsubishi, at the impound lot...or what's left of it." Nate said walking into the bull pen area.

"You wanna work it?" Kensi said to Sam, who was sitting at his desk.

"No, go ahead, gonna send an email to Callen, make sure he's up to speed." Sam said.

"You think he's having fun?" Nate said referring to Callen's traffic school class.

"Oh yeah." Sam said with a smirk of his own.

**_Impound Lot_**

"Give me a wrench. " Kensi said from underneath Rush's burned car. Nate walked over and handed Kensi a wrench.

"Whoa there cowboy, this baby's suffered enough." Kensi said when Nate almost knocked something on the car.

"Sorry, didn't know you cared so much." Nate said.

"What can I say, grease is my favorite perfume." Kensi said.

"So tell me, how do you know so much about cars?" Nate asked.

"Is this part of the whole getting to know me thing?" Kensi said.

"Maybe." Nate said with a smirk.

"Well..my Dad tuned his Nova on the weekends. In fact I used to spend my afternoons handing him tools and bringing him cold beers." Kensi said.

"That sounds like fun." Nate said.

"Yeah...every time he turned away I'd adjust the carburetor on my own, just so he could have a surprise when he got back." Kensi said while still working under the car.

"This is not gonna work, half inch socket." Kensi said reaching out her hand for the tool. Nate reached into the tool chest unsure of which one she needed, so he grabbed two of them before walking over to Kensi and showing her both.

"Seriously." Kensi said surprised at his lack of knowledge about the tools.

"My Dad and I never really worked on cars...he was more of a...Lego guy." Nate said.

"Ow, hold on...oh I feeling something." Kensi said feeling under the car.

"Oh my God!" Kensi said pulling a rectangular metal object from the bottom of the car and sliding out from under the car.

"What is it?" Nate asked curious and a little concerned.

"I don't know...but I'm betting it's not supposed to be in this car. Maybe Keith Rush can tell us what it is." Kensi said then reached out her hand for Nate to help her up.

"Thanks." Kensi said said smiling .

"You're welcome." Nate said still holding her hand.

"You can let go of my hand now." Kensi said slightly blushing at the contact.

"Right." Nate said and let go of her hand, this wasn't exactly the right place or time, for them to be holding hands.

**_Boat House_**

"What you doing?" Kensi asked Sam who'd out of the interrogation room and grabbed the object, Kensi had found under Rush's car.

"Giving him what he came for." Sam said then reentered the interrogation room.

Kensi and Nate watched the interrogation on the surveillance screen. Their suspect, who claimed to be Rush's boss, explained that the device found under Rush's car was a battery, that essentially allowed a person vehicle to go much, much faster. Sam believed that he was telling the truth and Nate through his observations also believed he was telling the truth. They finished up at the boat house and headed back to OSP, where they worked for a couple more hours. Nate walked out of his office, heading home for the night. He spotted Kensi packing up her stuff in the bull pen.

"Walk you out?" Nate asked walking over to her.

"Sure." Kensi said smiling at him. The two then walked side by side to their parking lot, causally talking about the case till they reached their cars, and went their separate ways.

* * *

_**Next Day 10:00 am NCIS OSP**  
_

Nate, Sam and Kensi were walking _, _Nate carrying a file and briefing them as they walked up the stairs to the second floor.

"Callen was right, Rush didn't have a policy with that insurance company and, as far as I can tell, with anyone outside of the Navy." Nate said.

"What about the insurance agent that we met?" Kensi asked, as they all stopped walking.

"Doesn't exist, the insurance company has no one by that name. They didn't even have an agent in that area yesterday." Nate said.

Sam brings up Alvarez, the former mechanic at the Rush family garage, and how his last known address didn't check out. He wondered who he would trust and Nate brought up Alvarez's former cellmate when he was in jail for three years.

"Cell mates tend to get close when they're locked up...if they don't kill each other first." Nate said.

"Wait, Johnson has a place in echo park." Kensi said putting a hole in the cell mate theory.

"What about the case against Rush senior?" Sam asked.

"Homeless and nameless, body was never identified." Nate said.

"Making the chances of payback slim." Kensi said.

Suddenly Eric appeared with news about Tokkon, his surveillance program had spotted Tokkon's car.

_**Few Hours Later**_

Kensi sat at her desk, the case had been wrapped up and she was finishing up her paper work. It turned out that James Rush's younger sister ,Amanda, had been the one to mess with his car. She had inadvertently caused what she had wanted to prevent, her brothers navy was just happy to retrieve their battery, so she would not be charged. She heard footsteps approach and looked up to see Nate.

"Hey." He said.

"Hey." Kensi said back.

"I was wondering if you had any plans this weekend." Kensi said.

"Are you asking me out?" Nate asked surprised.

"Sort of...since you've never really done the whole fixing cars thing, and my car needs a tune up, I thought maybe I could show you some of the ropes." Kensi said.

"Yeah, sure." Nate said.

"Cool, meet me at my place Saturday at eleven." Kensi said.

" I'm heading out, I'll see you then. " Nate said.

"Night Nate." Kensi said.

" Goodnight Kensi." Nate said then walked away.

* * *

**A/n:** _ thanks for_ reading, _I've been working on this chapter on and off for a couple of weeks_ , _I would really appreciate some feedback, so as always reviews/suggestions/construct criticism and any ideas you may have, is greatly appreciated I will try to get the next chapter up soon, but I'd like to update some of my other stories first.  
_

_**-Pessi . Rom**_


	10. Cars And Flirtations

**A/n: **_Here's another chapter, though I have a small background in auto mechanics, my dad used to be one, I got most of my info online because it was soo long ago, so forgive me for any technical mistakes in the first part of this chapter, I'm not really one of those peoples who are into cars like that , the second part of this contains spoilers for ep. 18 "blood brothers", enjoy.  
_

**-Pessi . Rom**_  
_

**Thanks to :** Michalice W,SofiaCullen22,LostForeverInHisEyes,Hope06,fanatic218 and lagentillefan

_ for reviewing the previous chapter,I appreciate it and hope y'all enjoy the new chapter._

_Also thanks to those that have added me or this story to a favorite, or alerts list, I appreciate your interest as well._

**Disclaimer:** _I don't own anything , but I wouldn't mine owning Nate, do you think Shane Brennan would let me have him?_

**Chapter Nine:**_ Cars and Flirtation_s**  
**

_**Saturday 11:00 am Apartment of Kensi Blye**_

Nate stood outside Kensi's apartment. He knocked on the door, and a few minutes later Kensi appeared. She was dressed in a dark blue wife-beater, and sweats, she had her hair tied back in a ponytail.

'' Hey.'' Nate said, noting how she still took his breath away even dressed in sweats.

'' Hey.'' Kensi said taking in Nate's appearance, he was dressed in a worn looking t-shirt and basketball shorts.

'' I wasn't sure what to wear, so I wore what I'd wear to the gym.'' Nate said noticing her checking out his appearance.

'' Don't worry, what you're wearing is fine.'' Kensi said giving him a reassuring smile.

''Good. '' Nate said smiling back at her.

'' Let me just grab my keys and tools, and we'll head to my car.'' Kensi said, motioning for him to come in and have a seat while she gathered the stuff they would need.

Nate noticed the stuffed dog he'd won her at the fair sitting on the couch. He smiled when he thought back to their date. He was shaken out of his thoughts when Kensi reappeared with a small tool box and two dishtowel rags. Nate followed her out of the apartment and after locking the door, they exited the building and walked over to where her car was.

Kensi placed the items she was carrying on the floor then unlocked the car, reaching down by the seat for the latch that would pop the trunk door open. She then went to the trunk, and with Nate's help pulled out two bottles of oil, a gallon of water and a quart of antifreeze.

''First we'll check the water and antifreeze levels, then change the oil. After that we'll check to see if anything else needs adjusting or replacement under the hood.'' Kensi said.

'' Sounds like a plan..'' Nate said, ready to jump in.

"See that arrow right, there, if the liquid is below that level than it needs replenishing. Never open the top of this while the water is running, you might get scolded by the heated water. Happened to a friend of my dads, water splashed on his face and chest." Kensi said as she took the top off the water tank, and motioned for Nate to hand her the gallon of water.

"Ouch, I'll definitely remember that." Nate said.

" Now we'll check the oil level." Kensi said showing Nate which one the oil tank was and unscrewing the top.

"I think I know how to do that...the checking the oil part." Nate added when Kensi gave him a look.

"Go ahead." Kensi said, motioning for him to lead the way.

Nate found the oil dipstick and grabbed one of the dish towel rags, wiping the stick clean. He then dipped it into the oil tank, slid it out to read where the oil level was at.

"It's a little below full, so we should probably add some oil." Nate said.

"I thought you said, you didn't know much about cars." Kensi said surprised that Nate knew how to check the oil.

" I don't, checking oil was the only thing, and it was one of my uncles that sorta taught me. He was teaching his oldest son, my cousin Andrew, and I happened to be visiting, so I was able to learn too." Nate explained.

"That's cool." Kensi said.

"Yeah, I didn't see it at the time, but that knowledge comes in handy, course not as much as knowing how to change your oil, but I don't even think my Uncle knew how to do that." Nate said with a smirk.

"Well, the next time I need to change mine, you can come over and I'll show you how." Kensi said.

"Cool. So what's next?" Nate said eager to learn some more and not wanting to seem too excited over the fact that she wanted to tune her car with him in the future.

"Anti-freeze, and then I've got to replace some of the spark plugs. The air and fuel filters will need replacing soon too, but I'll have to make a trip to Auto Zone, before I can do that." Kensi said.

_**An a hour and a half later**_

"And we're done." Kensi said closing the hood of her car.

"This was fun." Nate said.

"Yeah, you're a quick learner. I gotta admit, I thought you'd mostly get in the way." Kensi said with a smirk.

"I'm guessing that was meant to be some kind of complement, so I'll ignore that second part." Nate said. Kensi just laughed then smiled at him before speaking.

"Lunch?" Kensi said heading back toward her apartment.

"Yeah." Nate said following after her.

"Didn't get a chance to go to the grocery store, but I've got enough stuff to make sandwiches." Kensi said as they made their way up the stairs that led to her apartment.

"Sounds good." Nate said, walking into her apartment, after she unlocked the door.

Kensi walked over to the fridge and pulled out a loaf of bread, package of sandwich meat,bottle of mayo, then veggies, which included lettuce, tomato's and cucumbers.

"I think this will do. Toasted or un-toasted?" Kensi asked Nate.

"Toasted." Nate said, then laughed.

"What?" Kensi asked after putting some bread in her toaster.

"Nothing...you just sound like a subway employee." Nate said.

"Excuse me?" Kensi said scoffing.

"It's a...joke..." Nate said nervously clearing his throat,when she gave him a look. Suddenly Kensi started to laugh.

"Wow, that was way too easy." Kensi turning back toward the toaster as the bread popped up.

"I'm guessing you weren't really angry." Nate said.

"Good observation Doc." Kensi said half sarcastically and half playfully.

The two then ate their sandwiches, hung out for a bit talking and joking some more for the next couple of hours. Nate then headed home for the night,he had some work to catch up on the next day, and Kensi was going to a game with the guys the next day. So despite enjoying each others company, they both needed their sleep for the next day.

* * *

_**Monday 11:00 am NCIS OSP**_

The newest case for the OSP team concerned the fatal shooting of a marine officer,Wendell Dobb's, in what looked like gang related violence. Eric had showed them footage of the shooting, which showed two cars with stolen plates rolling up, and the occupants shooting down the officer with AK47's.

''Gang violence in the military is an ongoing problem, and SECNAV is pushing hard to route out any and all offenders ,but I don't see any indication of gang ties in Wendell Dobbs service records. ''Nate said walking into the bull pen with Callen.

''LAPD said there's an escalating war between gangs, lot of jocking for drug turf.'' Sam said.

'' Well, fire power makes a big difference.'' Callen said.

'' Dobbs' was in uniform, so its unlikely a case of mistaken identity. He clearly wasn't a random victim, he was targeted . Question is,why?'' Nate said relying the rest of his observations.

''How do we wanna play it? '' Sam asked.

''I'll go put in a call to Dobbs CO, and his medical officer. '' Nate said, then left.

'' I'll swing by the crime scene, see if i can track down any witnesses who are willing to talk.'' Kensi said, then also leaves.

'' Well, looks like we're gonna pay our respects to the family.'' Callen said, grabbing his coat, Sam nods and grabs his coat as well.

_**Few Hours Later**_

Eric was looking something up on the computer, he was able to pull out info on possible suspects in the shooting of the victims dad. Callen had snapped a photograph of the suspect and had turned up some information. Kensi and Nate, who were also in the OP's room. They walked up closer to see what Eric had found.

'' Rashad Hollander,aka slide, dishonorably discharged from the army in 2007, for... '' Eric said.

'' Let me guess, gang activity. " Kensi said.

'' Bingo. Hm, he managed to compile an impressive rap sheet since then. As has Wendell's prodigal little brother, James.'' Eric said pulling up the deceased marine's, brothers, file on the screen, alongside Rashad Hollander's.

'' But James seems like a petty thief , whereas Hollander appears to be well on the way to becoming a full fledged sociopath.'' Nate said looking at the information on the screen..

'' Both Slide(Hollander), and James (little mac D) Dobbs, have links to the 82nd street posse, which have been expanding to rival gangs' territory.'' Eric said.

'' So what does this have to do with our stellar marine, Wendell Dobbs?'' Kensi asked, wondering what this new information told them about their impending case.

''That's the part we haven't figured out yet.'' Nate said turning to face Kensi.

* * *

_**The Next Day**_

The team stood watching the news about the latest gang shout out,which again involved heavy duty fire. Nate sighs.

''James is the only way to get to the gang that killed his brother '' Sam said, as they all stared at the TV screen.

'' Look, slide Rashad Hollander is extremely dangerous, and after this mornings shoot out he's gonna be even more paranoid and jumpy. Which is gonna make him more prone to violence. '' Nate said clearly not liking the proposed angle to take down their killer.

'' Which is why we have to act now, get those killers and their automatic weapons off the street. '' Sam said.

''Ok, but whose to say Slide wont kill James, the minute he seems him. He's your only witness in any of this.'' Nate argues.

'' Slides already lost three guys, including J.J. , his right hand man. He's in a turf war with the Mexicans and the Colombians, hes gonna take all the help he can get.'' Callen said, bringing in another perspective.

'' Look I know you guys are gonna do it anyway, but I just want it on the record that I think this OP has an unacceptable risk level. They're too many dangerous variables, especially with this short of a setup. That being said, I hope you kick some ass. '' Nate says, Kensi turns and smiles at him.

'' I'll prep James.'' Sam says.

'' I'll get Eric working on the text grid.'' Kensi said, then heads to the second floor.

'' I'll download some more profiles on Slide. Could be something there you could use.'' Nate said wanting to support the team in anyway he could, despite feeling uncomfortable about the risk level.

'' Thanks Nate.'' Callen said.

_**Later**_

"Hey, Doc." Kensi said walking into Nate's office.

"Hey." Nate said back, finding that he liked when she called him that.

"Hetty making you debrief with me?" Nate asked.

"No, I just wanted...to see you." Kensi said, a hint of shyness in her voice.

"Oh...really?" Nate said surprised.

"Ok, so maybe she did want me to talk to you, cause of the whole shoot out thing. But I thought we could have dinner, and tomorrow we'll do the whole debriefing thing." Kensi said taking a seat on the couch in his office and giving him flirty look.

"Yeah, sounds like a plan, I'm almost done here." Nate said referring to his paperwork.

"Good, um there's one other thing." Kensi said getting up and closing his office door.

"What's that?" Nate said keeping his eyes on her as he moved from being his desk.

" I'm good with this whole going slow thing,but I think we can start doing this again." Kensi said walking over to him and standing a few inches from him.

"You mean this." Nate said leaning down, bringing his lips closer to hers.

"Yeah, I mean this." Kensi said, then closed the distance.

* * *

**A/n:**_ Thanks for reading,that thing about the water and getting burned actually happened to my dad and it was pretty bad burns, but he made a full recovery with no scars or anything, also that last part wasn't originally planned for this chapter, but sometimes the chapter writes itself, thanks for reading hope you enjoyed the chapter_,_ as always reviews/suggestions/construct criticism and any ideas you may have, is greatly appreciated I will try to get one more chapter up next week,because after that I'll be settling back into University life lol, so it might be awhile after the next update before I can update again._

_**-Pessi . Rom**_


End file.
